Does the language of the 14th Amendment (one that trips up the far right quite frequently) give a good reason to ignore the partisan calls to default on our debts? Here is the relevant piece of the 14th Amendment:

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Clearly this amendment is in response to the Civil War, but our courts have upheld the universal meaning of the words used. So, this whole summer theater regarding the debt ceiling may be utterly irrelevant. Good thing, too, because the only purpose of challenging the debt ceiling at this time is to champion the severe austerity rhetoric favored by the right, which is absolutely the wrong direction to go in times of economic depression.

Here’s a chance for the right to put their money where their mouth is regarding states’ rights. But they won’t, of course. As I argued in an earlier post, the whole states’ rights canard is a huge distraction; the right is all too happy to push for federal control over the areas they care about. Usually this involves telling other people how they should or should not live their lives, eroding individual civil rights, denying equality under the law across all groups, and so forth.

It’s time to start taking marijuana legalization or decriminalization seriously. Border security, the deficit, American manufacturing, and prison overcrowding are all issues that will be improved by marijuana legalization or decriminalization. Let the states go their own way with marijuana legalization or decriminalization, and the evidence will speak for itself.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/22/legislation-to-legalize-it/feed/Is the US Senate Completely Broken?http://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/21/is-the-us-senate-completely-broken/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/21/is-the-us-senate-completely-broken/#commentsWed, 22 Jun 2011 05:38:04 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/21/is-the-us-senate-completely-broken/I don’t understand how the US Senate, a legislative body vital to the functioning of our nation, has become locked down by tyrannical, undemocratic procedural traditions.

The NY Times had an article the other day demonstrating how the GOP is able to block basically any Presidential appointment. Fed board members, a Commerce Secretary, a head of Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac, and many other positions remain unfilled due to Republican objects. (The most galling of these, in my opinion, is the new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a much-needed anti-fraud watchdog agency that the GOP would not hesitate to scrap if they could.)

What’s the big deal, you say? Senators have done that throughout history, you say? What is unprecedented this time is the blanket approach taken by the GOP. They are not confirming any nominees at all:

Senators have long exercised their constitutional prerogative to derail nominations. And, for just as long, the party in the White House has accused its opponents of abusing that power. But several of the current standoffs differ in at least one respect: Republicans have said they are not opposing a particular nominee but rather any nominee, whoever it may be.

And the White House continues to cave to demands issued by these Senate Republicans, only to have new demands made in their place. It’s like trying to negotiate with your mugger: you produce your wallet only to have your jewelry taken next.

Sen. David Vitter, who really should resign because of his habit of booking prostitutes from the Senate floor, held up an appointment to demand 15 new offshore drilling permits. After these were granted, another GOP Senator blocked the appointment with a different set of demands. After THOSE were granted, a third GOP Senator issued a new set of demands and blocked the appointment. And on and on it goes.

Mandatory drug testing of welfare recipients is a terrible idea on many levels.

First, there’s the matter of basic human decency. The modern conservative is so infuriated at the thought that someone somewhere is getting help (and THEY JUST MIGHT NOT DESERVE IT) that they are willing to override any sort of altruistic instinct or beneficial social safety net to satisfy their desire for revenge against the anonymous cheater out there. This is exactly why the myth of the welfare queen became part of the right-wing worldview under Reagan. Demonizing our most vulnerable citizens provides right-wingers with a scapegoat for their problems, gives them the satisfaction of feeling better than someone else, and “confirms” what they want to believe anyway. It disgusts me.

Let’s look at reality under a worst case scenario: someone applying for TANF in Florida tests positive for drugs. They still have a family that needs food, clothing, and shelter! Now that family will not have its most basic needs met.

One final insult to human decency tops off this law: applicants to TANF in Florida must pay the cost of the mandatory drug test out of their own pocket, regardless of whether they receive any benefits. (They are reimbursed later if they pass the drug test and qualify for benefits.) In other words, it costs money to demonstrate that you have no money: a ridiculous catch-22.

Second, this mandatory drug testing law is unconstitutional. I believe it violates the 4th, 5th, and 14th amendments to the Constitution.

The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches of one’s person. No crime has taken place, and no indication that a crime might occur is present. There is no “probable cause” to conduct a search. I can already hear a chorus of “if you’re not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear” brewing out there. That sentiment has led societies to authoritarian ruin throughout history.

The 5th Amendment protects one from bearing witness against oneself. Submitting to a drug test outside of probation — a punishment for a crime — or employment — a voluntary agreement between employer and employee — is an example of forced witness.

The 14th Amendment guarantees these protections (and all of our civil rights) to each of us, including those of us who happen to receive welfare. Carving out exceptions to the 14th Amendment sets a dangerous legal precedent that we should avoid. Unfortunately, today’s right-wingers are eager to toss out the 14th Amendment under cover of “State’s Rights” as they fight to replace our Constitution with what they imagine the Constitution means. (The best illustration of this concept is an Onion article that hits a little to close to the mark to be just humor.)

Of course, it’s also all about the money for Florida Gov. Scott. Private drug testing companies, like the walk-in clinic company co-founded by Gov. Scott, will reap the benefit of this law. I find it true in most cases that calls for privatization of existing government services usually involve corrupt funneling of public money to well-connected private companies. Usually these companies return the favor to corrupt politicians by donating to their campaigns. Readers of this blog will likely agree: this is an especially big problem in Texas.

Fascism begins to seep into a society when civil rights protections are removed from the most vulnerable citizens. Exception by exception is how it starts, and we need to stop it.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/07/creeping-fascism-in-florida/feed/The Not-So-Special Sessionhttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/01/the-not-so-special-session/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/01/the-not-so-special-session/#commentsWed, 01 Jun 2011 09:47:22 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/01/the-not-so-special-session/Thanks in part to a heroic filibuster by State Sen. Wendy Davis (D - Fort Worth), we have a special session called by the guv to address the following:

Needless to say, none of the above bills are good bills; although, I am sympathetic to the TSA anti-groping bill.

Also, have a look at the proposed Congressional redistricting map. Just look at it for a minute. This map is an ode to packing and gerrymandering. Travis county is split among 5 districts (Doggett is an obvious target, with a district running clear down to San Antonio), Harris County looks like a pinwheel, and the Valley is done up in pinstripes like a 1980s stock broker. No wonder they waited until a special session to release this turd of a map.

Thank goodness the Department of Justice — under a Democratic administration during redistricting for the first time in 50ish years — will have a say in this redistricting map. Public testimony against this map will go a long way toward helping DOJ correct it in the end, so keep your ear to the ground for opportunities to make your voice heard as part of the official record.

Along with this slate of bills, the Lt. Governor is asking Gov. Perry let bills pass in the Senate be by majority vote only. This is because they didn’t have the votes to pass the above bills during the regular session, so they are doing an end-run around their own rules to jam them through.

I am surprised that the special session has started so soon, with basically a call to order and then adjournment 30 minutes later on Tuesday. I still predict that a special session in July will be necessary, though the GOP (and Perry for President) would love to avoid one.

The toll free number to the capitol is 1-888-836-8368. It’s time to let your representatives know how you feel about this not-so-special session.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/06/01/the-not-so-special-session/feed/NY26 and the Democratic Comebackhttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/24/ny26-and-the-democratic-comeback/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/24/ny26-and-the-democratic-comeback/#commentsWed, 25 May 2011 05:01:54 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/24/ny26-and-the-democratic-comeback/Congratulations to Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who just won in heavily Republican New York Congressional District 26. She defeated Republican Jane Corwin almost exclusively on the issue of Medicare, which was wisely raised by Hochul first thing in her campaign.

The NY26 election is a referendum on the Ryan “Plan” (as much as you can call “eliminate medicare to pay for tax cuts to the rich” a PLAN) and on the GOP Tea Party movement. Already, politically astute Republicans like Peter King are taking note of the results and trying to steer their party away from the extremes offered by Paul Ryan’s immoral budget. (Even Newt Gingrich refers to the Ryan plan as extreme.)

Also, I think the parallels are striking when you compare NY26 to Scott Brown’s election to the US Senate. Hochul was outspent by her Republican opponent (and assorted conservative political groups from around the nation) but won due to grassroots effort and a better, clearer message. Democrats running in 2012 could learn a lot from Hochul’s successful campaign strategy.

Scott Brown, by the way, is also distancing himself from the lunacy of the Ryan plan. Any Republican official that wants to keep his/her job will follow suit.

NY26 is a bellweather as we gear up for the 2012 election season.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/24/ny26-and-the-democratic-comeback/feed/Israel Freakouthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/23/israel-freakout/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/23/israel-freakout/#commentsMon, 23 May 2011 11:34:46 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/23/israel-freakout/As usual, the right was all over Obama before he even delivered his Arab Spring speech on Thursday. The universal talking point from the right (and it’s eerie how they all used this exact language) was that the President “threw Israel under the bus” with his speech. Specifically, they point to the bit about 1967 borders as evidence, conveniently ignoring even the rest of the same sentence, which emphasizes mutually-agreed “swaps.”

Really, the right freaking out over Israel is nothing new. Many pundits on the right subscribe to the “Israel can do no wrong” theory of international relations, often for biblical reasons. This is a dangerous mix of religion and national policy, to be sure.

And, right wing or otherwise, the pro-Israel lobby in this country is extremely, immensely powerful. This weekend, President Obama addressed AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel group in the USA. (Interesting factoid from AIPAC.org: “Except for the State of the Union address, the AIPAC Policy Conference is the largest annual bipartisan gathering of U.S. senators, representatives, administration officials, diplomats and foreign ambassadors.”) The reaction to the President’s AIPAC speech was positive. So much for the hot air from the right that Obama is somehow anti-Israel.

Incidentally, Herman Cain served up his first gaffe as a declared Presidential candidate over Israel, when he flubbed a question about the “right of return,” a major Palestinian issue. His shoot-from-the-hip answer pulled him away from his otherwise pro-Likud narrative. (Netanyahu re-iterated Friday that right-of-return is something that Israel, under his leadership, is not interested in.) Basically, he pulled a Palin.

The Arab Spring has the potential to become a huge, sweeping pro-democracy movement across the entire middle east. President Obama is reaping the benefits of his 2009 speech to the Arab world as well as his carefully-considered approach to middle east countries (each situation is unique, no boilerplate diplomacy here) coordinated with Secretary of State Clinton. But don’t expect the right to give any sort of foreign policy credit to President Obama any time soon.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/23/israel-freakout/feed/Dropping Like Flieshttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/17/dropping-like-flies/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/17/dropping-like-flies/#commentsWed, 18 May 2011 04:41:11 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/17/dropping-like-flies/The field of GOP Presidential candidates is quickly turning into a race not to be the guy or gal to lose to Obama.

Trump is out, and no one will miss him.

Chris Christie — the bully of New Jersey — is out. He’ll crack his knuckles for four more years before jumping in.

Huckabee is out, as he announced right after playing bass with Ted Nugent… stay classy, Huck.

So who’s still around?

Newt is in. Can’t wait for his own large library of gaffes to bring him down.

Ron Paul is in. If he gets the Republican nomination, then the GOP has an easy scapegoat for the loss that will set back Libertarian inroads within the GOP for a decade.

Herman Cain is in. He seems to have some grassroots support on the far right, but no one knows who the hell he is. And don’t bother me with the “no one knew who Obama was either” comparisons. After Obama’s 2004 DNC speech, every Democrat in the USA knew who he was (and probably wished he was our candidate instead of John Kerry).

Romney is in, though the GOP base will never support him because Romneycare and Obamacare are so similar.

And, with voters waking up to the destruction wrought by GOP-controlled state legislatures across the nation, 2012 is looking like a great year to be a Democrat.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/17/dropping-like-flies/feed/We got Osama!http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/01/we-got-osama/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/01/we-got-osama/#commentsMon, 02 May 2011 04:05:50 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/01/we-got-osama/Congratulations to our troops and intelligence services that worked for a decade to get Osama! This is a moment for all Americans to celebrate; right now (just finished watching the President speak) they are dancing in the streets in front of the White House.

I wonder what happens next? I hope we haven’t damaged our relationship with Pakistan, and I hope we can now get serious about ending the war in Afghanistan. The TV pundits are focused on the domestic consequences — are we going to see heightened security? I predict that not much will change on the home front.

]]>http://lubbockleft.com/2011/05/01/we-got-osama/feed/For the Love of Moneyhttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/04/10/for-the-love-of-money/
http://lubbockleft.com/2011/04/10/for-the-love-of-money/#commentsMon, 11 Apr 2011 04:22:06 +0000Lubbock Lefthttp://lubbockleft.com/2011/04/10/for-the-love-of-money/I’m wrapping up a busy weekend from the fourth annual Lubbock Comic Book Expo, so just a quick post tonight. :)

I know there are politicians on the left and on the right, Democrats and Republicans, to which this song applies. We can all picture politicians who put their personal profit ahead of representing their constituents. I happen to believe that most of those Mammonites are in the GOP. Our own Congressman is a good example of this type.

Andy Eppler, by the way, is a Lubbock native who recently moved north. Show him some love on youtube so we can get him back for more shows in the Hub City.